Wednesday, November 29, 2006

After a very cold night, we awoke to 48 degrees in the bathroom area (and not much warmer in the other areas!). It's always the coldest part of the basement, since we section that area off with quilts. The woodstove just can't make the heat go that far back, especially with the quilt barrier. Our trip to Menard's for styrofoam insulation is being expedited, since the weather will only be colder as we progress into winter.

How appropriate: Our 7-year-old had to read the following poem this morning:

WHETHER THE WEATHER BE FINE,OR WHETHER THE WEATHER BE NOT,WHETHER THE WEATHER BE COLD,OR WHETHER THE WEATHER BE HOT,WE'LL WEATHER THE WEATHERWHATEVER THE WEATHER,WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT!

I better unplug the computer before we experience another power surge.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

COLD ARCTIC AIR MOVING INTO THE STATE WITH DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS TONIGHT & WEDNESDAY.

THE WINTER STORM WILL EXIT INTO CANADA, AS ARCTIC HIGH PRESSURE BRINGS GUSTY NW WINDS & DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS INTO THE REGION TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. ADDITIONAL SNOW AMOUNTS ACROSS THE NORTH WILL RANGE FROM LIGHT AMOUNTS TO AROUND AN INCH BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. SOME BLOWING SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS EVENING, ESPECIALLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM WATFORD CITY TO THE BOTTINEAU LINE. BUT THE MAIN WEATHER THREAT TONIGHT INTO WED. MORNING WILL BE VERY COLD WIND CHILLS TO 25 BELOW ACROSS WESTERN & NORTHERN NORTH DAKOTA. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL OR BE OUT DOORS, BE SURE TO COVER EXPOSED SKIN, AS WIND CHILLS THIS LOW CAN CAUSE FROSTBITE. LONG EXPOSURE TO THE COLD TEMPS CAN ALSO CAUSE HYPOTHERMIA. PACK A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT IN YOUR CAR.

Monday, November 27, 2006

If the weather forecast proves to be accurate, by tomorrow night we will have about 10 inches of snow. Welcome to winter! In the next day or so, nighttime temperatures will drop into the negative digits as well. I am definitely not ready for this, but it will come whether we are ready or not.

I was thinking this afternoon about the bountiful harvest we had this fall. Even though the weather is blustery and we may not be able to get out until the township grader or plow makes its way into our driveway, we have plenty of food to eat. What we have stored is nothing like we used to stock up on in the city, but here it's home canned vegetables. We also have our home grown chickens in the freezer, and upstairs in our shelled in main floor we have a freezer filled with the 2 deer that Jonathan shot for us. It's time to head to our friend Paulette's and pick up more of our potatoes that are stored in her root cellar, but for the time being we are doing okay. What a blessing to be a bit more self sufficient than we have ever been before.

The local radio station reported that the power company is gearing up for possible downed power lines due to very windy conditions, so we filled a few bottles and jugs with water in case we lose electricity and our water pump. The animals are safe in their shelters, and that is a blessing as well.

Jim and I are trying to think of creative ways to keep it warmer here in the basement. At the moment I am reliving the memories of being in our pop-up camper, scrunched up in sleeping bags and piled high with blankets. Our bathroom area in here is reminiscent of our trips to the "compost toilet" (a bucket with a toilet seat) in the woods. The thermometer reads a chilly 55 degrees back there! The first winter in the basement we had 12 inches of insulation at the ceiling, but since we had no windows or upper floor the insulation became soaked with trapped humidity, and rained on us. Last year we had our neighbor that baled our hay make square bales for us, and we used them to cover the roof and then had a tarp that secured them. We were a bit apprehensive, but it proved to be a good way to keep the basement warm. This fall our main floor was built but not insulated, so there is only plywood and rolled roofing between us and the cold air. We are thinking we will have to do some sort of insulation again this winter inside the basement, and I'm hoping it won't be the pink or yellow stuff that sprinkles Fiberglas all over when it's being installed.

A year ago Jim's Mom sewed window treatments for us from materials purchased at JoAnn Fabrics, from a company called Warm Windows. They do a very good job of keeping the cold air that seeps in from the windows out of here. We do have to open the shades in the morning, because without any heat in that area the windows develop ice on the edges. It's also much harder to wake up in the morning when it's so dark in here!

I don't suppose reading this blog encourages anyone to move up to the frozen north country, but as they say, the cold keeps the riff raff out!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

I read Marci's blog , where she is asking for our lists of what we are thankful for. Well, one of the top items on my list is my Dad.

Ten years ago, Dad unexpectedly needed open heart surgery, when he had his aortic valve replaced and also had double bypass surgery. At that time he literally died twice, but thankfully was brought back to life. Our third son was only 8 months old at the time, and with these added 10 years, Andrew and also our 4th child, David, were able to get to know and love Grandpa along with their 2 older brothers.

This fall Dad was experiencing much difficulty with his breathing, and we were all concerned. The cardiologist set up an angiogram for him, and that procedure was done this morning. I am so thankful to say that no blockages were found! Dad will need a procedure called cardioversion performed to bring the beating of his heart back into sync, but it won't involve surgery.

I guess it's so easy to take people we love for granted, and it isn't until there is a possible life threatening condition that we realize how short life really is. We are all so thankful for Grandpa!(Grandma, too!)

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

I thought I was doing well with learning to cook wild game. However, when late this afternoon Peter brought in a squirrel he had shot, I balked at the idea of having it for supper. So, the boys went ahead and cooked it up themselves. In spite of the rather charcoal flavor, their comment was, "Well, it tastes like chicken!"

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

I feel like a broken record when I say that life has been very busy lately ... I really feel that our life up here is even more hectic than it was when we lived in the city, and that is very frustrating for me. To be honest, I'm looking forward to being snowed in!

Speaking of snow, a week ago yesterday we had about 8 inches of the stuff, but by today it was reduced to slimy mud. Not only did the snow melt, but what frost we had came out of the ground and we really have a mess. After a quick walk outside you suddenly discover how many inches you have grown with the help of mud sticking to your boots! We live about 2 miles down a gravel road, and when I took Jonathan to his vacuuming job I discovered the main road is worse than what our driveway used to be! Late in the summer, construction crews removed what tar there was in order to widen and redo the road, and now it's a huge sloppy mess. I'm glad I don't have to travel that road very often.

Last week's midwife conference was a real blessing to me. I was able to get to know some very special homeschool graduates, and hear how they desire to please the Lord in their vocations. I'm sure not all of the girls attending the conference will become midwives, but they will be better prepared for their own deliveries and helpful to others if called upon for assistance. I could tell I was missed at home; this week is being spent trying to catch up and clean up!

I have added some new culinary skills to my list: Cooking ruffed grouse and wild turkey. Both are very flavorful and easy to cook. Crockpots are wonderful for making any meat tender.

On Saturday our friends the Hendersons came to join us for fellowship. Our 4 boys always enjoy having their 5 boys around for a fun time. Their big trek was to head to our pond and trap muskrats. I'm not sure they actually caught one, but they sure had fun trying. The best part was they left with our billy goat; we have a pleasant break from the bellering and his odor! I remember when we first got Ned last May. He was such a nice goat, and I had always thought that billy goats had a reputation for being ornery and stinky. Well, I think he is only a year or two old, and suddenly has matured and the stinky part has come to pass. Hendersons will bring him back in a month, and hopefully he will have accomplished his mission with their goats. Then it's our turn with our goats.

The boys have moved the goats and chickens into the shed that they built just down from my clotheslines. I am so proud of the way Jonathan designed and figured out how much lumber he would need; and then with the help of his brothers, built the shed. Talk about a homeschool project! We are very thankful for life in the country, as they have learned so many life skills.

Deer hunting season opens on Friday, and we are looking forward to the venison. I'm not looking forward to the mess of butchering deer on my kitchen table, but that's the way it is. I think I better place "cleaning freezers" on my to-do list for tomorrow!